


Track of the Storm

by allysonandrews1982 (FonzFan82)



Series: McCarey [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Power Outage, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-20
Updated: 2013-06-20
Packaged: 2017-12-15 14:32:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/850643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FonzFan82/pseuds/allysonandrews1982
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a power outage going on in Detroit. Would Marlene be there to save the day to turn the power back on? Both Tina and Carla are out of work for the day while the power is out and Karen does something she's not supposed to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is an odd idea but strange one for a story but somehow it popped in my head one day and I had to write it but I hope you all like it. There is a Happy Days version to this story like the 'Certain Smile' one. I hope you decide which version you like better. Enjoy!

That cloudy day in Detroit, Marlene Potsie rode her pink and red motorcycle in the rain home. She’d just finished taking a couple boys she’d been seeing back to the high school because they had class but they did wish they could skip their afternoon classes just to hang out with their African – American date. Marlene arrived to the two – story brick house she was now living in. 

After parking her motorcycle in the driveway and taking her helmet off, Marlene opened the screen door. She found a tall, dark – haired man in his late forties in the kitchen. She slammed the screen door when the two of them heard a clap of thunder. 

“Just in time, Marlene,” the dark – haired man named Bill Thompson said. 

“Thanks, Bill. I just dropped off my dates at the high school since they had classes this afternoon,” Marlene said. 

“I’m happy I see one person – my wife,” Bill told her. 

The next minute or so, before Bill or Marlene knew it, the electricity went out. 

“Great,” Bill said. 

“Can you figure a way to turn the power back on?” Bill asked her. 

Marlene didn’t answer him. All she did was stomp her left foot and the power came back on. Bill was surprised to see this. Bill decided to tell their friends what Marlene had just done. 

“I don’t get it, Marlene. How did you do that? Too bad the others missed this,” Bill said, amazed at what Marlene had just done. 

Before she said anything, Marlene pushed away her dark hair from her eyes. She decided not to say anything so she stayed quiet. 

Bill decided to tell their friends what Marlene had just done. 

“The gang is coming over for supper tonight, Marlene. Thanks for turning the power back on like that. The gang has to hear this,” Bill said. 

He could see Marlene didn’t answer him. All she did was push away her long, dark hair from her face and went to grab an apple from the kitchen. 

Bill watched as Marlene took a seat on one of the living room couches. 

“Do you want to watch ‘Comeback Kid’ with me, Bill?” Marlene asked. 

“Thanks, but I have a book to finish. I can work on that until I pick up Ken from school in an hour,” Bill said. 

Marlene remembered the rule when she first moved in with Bill and his wife – no kids on motorcycles. 

She wanted to volunteer to pick up Ken later, but that was when she remembered her motorcycle was out of the question. She also remembered her younger cousin, Carla Sanchez was working at the library. Marlene remembered Carla recently dyed her hair again last week since it is now spring. Carla changed her hair from Christmas gold to spring leaf red. 

The phone rang the minute Bill sat at the computer to finish his latest Lynda Conway novel. He didn’t want to get up again just to answer the phone, so he decided he’d let Marlene do it. He was right because he heard her voice in the kitchen. He had no idea who it was but he was sure Marlene would tell him. 

After a second or so, Bill heard Marlene put the phone back. She walked into the office.

“Who was that?” Bill asked. 

“Karen. She said she can’t join us tonight because she has to work tonight.” 

“Okay,” he said, remembering their red – headed police friend. 

Bill knew his friend Jay was taking it easy because last Christmas Jay had to spend Christmas in the hospital because he had an accident and needed no surgery but physical therapy. 

Bill remembered Jay needed about five or ten appointments of physical therapy left and then he would be one hundred percent back to normal. Bill had known Jay and Karen McCarey since the three of them had lived in Washington, but he and Jay didn’t meet until high school. Unlinke himself and Marlene, Jay McCarey didn’t have black hair. He was a blonde, and like Bill, they were the same age but two weeks apart with Bill being older. 

It was now time for Bill to pick up Ken from school. He got up from the computer and walked into the living room where he found Marlene watching television. 

“I’ll be back soon, Marlene. I’m going to the school to pick up Ken,” Bill said. 

“All right.” 

Marlene watched him leave. The phone rang in the kitchen. 

Marlene got up and said, “Hello?” 

“Hi, Marlene. Is Bill there?” Tina asked. 

“He just left, Tina. He went to get Ken from school.” 

“Will you tell Bill when he gets back I’m on my way home?” Tina asked. 

“It’s a bit early to come home, isn’t it?” 

“I know it is, Marlene, but with the power out we can’t feed any of the customers. I’m calling on the cell,” Tina told Marlene. 

“I’ll tell Bill when he gets back,” Marlene told Tina as she put the phone back. 

She never thought about the power being out in town but she knew this neighborhood was out for sure except this house. Before she knew it, Bill and Ken walked into the house a few minutes later. 

“We’re back,” Bill said. 

“Hi, Bill. I have a message for you,” Marlene said. 

“What?” Bill asked as he watched Ken head up the stairs to do his homework. 

“Tina called. She said she’s on her way home right now because the power is out at the restaurant,” Marlene told him. 

“Okay. I can’t wait to see Tiny Tina again,” he told Marlene. 

Marlene gave him a look. 

The doorbell rang. Bill answered the door. He saw one of his neighbors from across the street was standing at the door. He remembered her because she lived in the Spanish – style house across the street that dated back in the 1700s. He saw his neighbor wearing a yellow raincoat carrying a candle. 

“Hi, Bill. Sorry if I’m disturbing anything, but I’m not making a social call,” the thin, tall, gray – haired woman named Susan Cash said. 

Marlene could tell Susan didn’t look familiar to her. 

“What are you here for, Susan?” Bill asked. 

“I wanted to see if the other houses had their power back on, but so far yours is the only one on. How did you get it back on?” Susan asked. 

Bill didn’t say anything so all he did was nod his head in Marlene’s direction.

“You mean to tell me that she turned your power back on? That doesn’t make sense,” Susan told Bill. 

“Well, it’s true. Tell her you turned my lights back on, Marlene.” 

“It’s true and he ain’t lying,” Marlene said to Susan. 

“I still think it makes no sense because the other houses are still dark. If you’re so smart, Ms., why don’t you turn the rest of the neighborhood on?” Susan asked. 

“Hold it!” Marlene said. 

It caught both Bill and Susan’s attention. 

“What, Marlene?” Bill asked. 

“I just don’t do it for strangers like her,” Susan heard Marlene tell Bill. 

Bill understood what Marlene meant. 

“Do your phones work, Susan?” Bill asked. 

“Not the house phone but the cell does. Why?” 

“I was wondering if the other houses have the house phones working because of the storm,” Bill said. 

“I don’t know. I’ve been at work this morning and came home before it started to rain,” Susan told Bill and Marlene. 

Bill had a thought. He looked in Marlene’s direction. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Marlene asked him. 

“If you could turn my lights back on, you could do the same with the rest of the neighborhood,” Bill said. 

Susan agreed with Bill and told Bill she would like to see Marlene turn the lights back on.

“You will, Susan,” Bill said. 

“So will you do it for the neighborhood, Marlene? It’s easier this way than to call the electric company,” Bill said.

Marlene said she would. 

“Thanks, Marlene. I knew you wouldn’t turn my neighborhood down,” Bill said as they watched Susan leave. 

That’s when the cell phone rang.

“Hi, Bill,” they heard Jay McCarey’s musical voice say. 

“Hi, Jay.” 

“I tried calling your house phone just now, but I got no answer,” Jay said. 

“Don’t you know, Jay? We’re having a power outage and the lights went out in the neighborhood and also at Tina’s. Aren’t the lights out at your place?” Bill asked.

Bill waited for Jay’s response as he watched Marlene leave the house. 

“No. I have a flashlight. It doesn’t have much power but it’s the best I can do,” Jay said.

He asked about Marlene.

“You won’t believe what Marlene did, Jay. I wish you and the others were here to see this,” Bill said laughingly.

“What did she do?” Jay asked. 

He hoped this was good. Bill was trying to find the right words on what to tell his best friend about Marlene and the power outage. 

“Do the others know about this yet?” Jay asked. 

“No, they don’t, Jay. You’ll be the first.” 

Jay could tell Bill was still in giggles when he was talking at the same time. 

“You mean Marlene did something funny?” Jay asked. 

“I think you might find it funny, Jay.” 

“You’re only giggling, Bill. You still haven’t told me what Marlene did that made you laugh.” 

“Sorry, Jay. I’m not sure if anyone else is going to believe or not, but when the power went out at the house with the rest of the neighborhood, my lights didn’t last very long. Marlene turned them on again by stomping her left foot,” Bill said laughingly. 

Jay couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He didn’t know what to say so all he did was join Bill in the laughter. 

“You have to show me that, Bill,” Jay said giggly. 

That’s when Bill heard the door open.

“Jay, I’ve got to go. Tina’s home,” Bill said, still in laughter. 

The two hung up. 

“Hi, Fashion state Bill,” Tina said when she walked into the kitchen. 

“Hi, Tiny Tina,” he said in between giggles. 

“What’s so funny?” Tina asked, finding it hard to kiss Bill. 

“It’s about Marlene.” 

“Where is Marlene?” 

“I’m not sure, Tiny Tina. I think she said something about dinner and the movies with a few of her dates,” Bill said. 

That night during dinner, Bill laughingly told Tina and Ken about Marlene and the power outage. 

“The minute Marlene stomped her left foot, the lights came back on. The lights have been on ever since,” he said in giggles. 

“I don’t get it. How can you turn the lights back on with your foot? I’d like to see that,” Tina said. 

“You will next time this happens.”

When supper was over, Ken was sent to his room to work on his homework. 

“Do the others know?” Tina asked.

“About Marlene? Only you and Jay so far,” Bill said. 

“I hope our lights stay on,” Tina said. 

“So do I,” Bill agreed. 

One thing Tina and Bill didn’t know was that the lights would be out that night when the whole family was asleep. 

A little after midnight, Marlene walked into the dark house. She always came to this house after her dates were over, finding a lighthouse instead of a dark house. She remembered they usually left a light on for her but she wondered why the house was dark. When Marlene locked the front door behind herself, she found the kitchen clocks clicking back and forth, so it told her this house recently had another power outage while she was out. 

Didn’t she just turn the power back on in this abode? She remembered doing so. She didn’t worry about the clocks blinking in the kitchen because she herself was going to bed. Upstairs, Bill was awake and heard Marlene downstairs. He didn’t bother getting out of bed so he fell asleep again after hearing Marlene head to the attic.


	2. Chapter 2

Tina and Bill heard on the radio that morning all schools were canceled because of the storm. 

“You’re home today, Ken,” Bill said after the radio finished announcing schools being shut down. 

Ken didn’t say anything. He was happy to hear some good news for a change. Tina and Bill finished putting the breakfast dishes in the sink several minutes later. 

They heard Bill’s cell phone go off just then. Tina started the sink when Bill answered his cell. He heard Jay’s voice on the other end. 

“Hi, Bill.” 

“Hi, Jay. What do you think of this storm?” Bill asked. 

“It’s something. My flashlight went out last night and now the only light I have is a candle.” 

“Good idea,” Bill agreed. 

“Tina and I haven’t turned on candles or flashlights yet since we just finished eating. Tina’s out of work today. She can’t feed her customers when the storm is like this,” Bill told Jay. 

“I don’t blame Tina, Bill. I spoke to Carla a while ago. She’s out of work today too,” Jay said.

“I was wondering about that. I mentioned to Tina I didn’t know if Carla was out of work today or not,” Bill said, “but I’ll tell her what you just told me.” 

“Before I forget, Jay, Tina invited you and the others over. I know it’s dark and cloudy out there, but what do you think about coming over? You can bring your guitar with you if you want,” Bill told his best friend. 

“I can make it. I’m not sure about the others. Is your son in school?” Jay asked. 

“School’s canceled because of the storm.” 

“Oh. I didn’t know the storm was going to be this big. I don’t remember having a rainstorm like this,” Jay said. 

“Me either,” Bill agreed.

The two talked a while longer and Bill shut his cell. 

“That was Jay. He talked to Carla earlier and said Carla’s out of work today too,” Bill told Tina. 

That’s when they saw Marlene come in. 

“Is it still stormy?” Marlene asked first thing without saying hello. 

“Yes, Marlene. It’s raining now. I remember you turning the lights on just yesterday,” Bill told her. 

“I remember that too, Bill. Do you want me to turn on the lights for you again?” Marlene asked. 

“Can you try it a second time?” Bill asked. 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Marlene said. 

She knew she couldn’t promise it. 

Bill kept his eye on Marlene because he wanted to see what she was going to do next.

“Why are you looking at me for?” Marlene asked. 

“I want to see what you’re going to do with my lights,” Bill said. 

He hoped they would be on by the time their friends came over. He heard the cell phone ring. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi, Bill,” Jay said. 

“Hi, Jay. Is your sister still working tonight?” Bill asked.

He knew it didn’t hurt to double – check. 

“Still working. Karen said she felt disappointed she couldn’t join us. I called to let you know I’m bringing the guitar and Carla is bringing the cards. We talked about it this morning who would bring what,” Jay said. 

“Makes sense. We’ll see you tonight,” Bill said as the two friends hung up. 

“That was Jay,” Bill told Marlene. 

“I heard what hotcakes said,” Marlene said. 

“I just hope he doesn’t bring along his old – fashioned Elvis with him,” she added.

“Forget Jay, Marlene, and start worrying about my lights. Can you do what you did the first time? That was neat,” Bill said. 

“Maybe,” she said. 

“Tiny Tina, you have to see this,” Bill said to his wife. 

“I want to,” Tina said. 

Both husband and wife starred in Marlene’s direction, waiting for her to start. 

“Do what you did before, Marlene,” Bill said, “then you could do the rest of the neighborhood like we talked about.” 

He and Tina waited for Marlene to stomp her left foot. 

So Marlene stomped her left foot again and the lights were back on.

“See how I’m not lying about the story, Tiny Tina?” Bill asked. 

He looked in her eyes. He saw that Tina couldn’t believe what she just saw. 

“I believe you,” Tina told Bill, knowing his story was true. 

“Let’s go do the rest of the neighborhood,” he said to Marlene. 

Tina didn’t mind staying behind. She wanted to hear what the neighbors thought of the lights turning on the way Marlene turned them on. Tina watched from the window because she wanted to watch Marlene turn the rest of the neighborhood on, which she did. It didn’t take Bill and Marlene long to get back home. 

“We’re back, Tiny Tina,” Bill said. 

“I know,” Tina said.

“What did the neighbors think of Marlene turning the lights on?” Tina asked. 

“They were surprised but thought lights can’t go on that fast during a storm like this,” Bill said. 

“True. I watched the lights come back on,” Tina said. 

“I had a feeling you would. Marlene just left. She’ll be back tonight with the others. She’s bringing some of her guy friends tonight,” Bill said. 

He could tell Tina didn’t care.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that night, the storm got heavier and the lights didn’t go out again until Jay, Carla and Marlene came to the house. Marlene was the last to show up because of her dates she had brought over with her. As promised from earlier, Jay had brought along his guitar and Carla brought along the cards. 

“We’re here,” Jay said, getting his guitar from the backseat of his orange convertible. 

He had offered Carla a ride over, which she had accepted. Bill opened the passenger door for their African – American friend. 

“Thank you, Bill,” Carla said politely. 

She knew Bill had polite manners to her and her older cousin from the first time they had met. 

“You’re welcome, Carla,” he said, closing the door as she walked out of the convertible, cards in hand. 

“Would you like me to carry the cards for you, Carla?” Bill asked as he, Jay and Carla were heading up to the stairs to the screen door. 

“That’s very kind of you, Bill, but I’ve got it,” Carla told him. 

Bill opened the door for his friends since they were guests for the evening. 

“Have you talked to Karen at all today besides her saying she couldn’t make it tonight?” Bill asked Jay after the three of them were in the house. 

“No, I haven’t. Why?” Jay asked. 

“I was curious if she could still come or not.” 

“I spoke with her. She doesn’t have tonight off to join us. She said she wished she had the time to, but this is a big case you just can’t walk away from,” Carla spoke up. 

“I understand. We’ll get together with Karen some other time when she’s not so busy,” Bill said. 

“Good plan,” Carla agreed. 

At the sheriff’s office, Karen McCarey was sitting at her desk, going through the case she was asked to do. She didn’t want to be here tonight. She knew she was missing out on something fun at her friends’ Bill and Tina Thompson’s house. Everyone was going to have fun without her that’s for sure. 

“And I’m missing out. I’m going to join them,” Karen said. 

Karen knew there were a few other officers around the place. 

“And I’m missing out. I’m going to join them,” Karen said. 

Karen knew there were a few other officers around the place. 

“I’m going to Bill and Tina’s. I don’t want to miss out on all the fun. I don’t care if it’s stormy out there. I’m leaving this place,” Karen said to herself as she went to search for one of the officers. 

“I can trade another night,” she added to herself. 

She found one officer who was on guard between the men and women cells and told him that she had a message for one of the other officers when he came back. She told the balding, overweight guard to message the officers she was leaving because one of her friends were having a get – together that night and she didn’t want to miss out and would reschedule her night another night. 

The balding guard told Karen he would pass the message around. She thanked him and went to get her raincoat and car keys and drove off to Bill and Tina’s house. One thing the gang didn’t expect that night was an unexpected visit from Karen. 

Karen saw while driving to Bill and Tina’s, the storm once again turned the power off. She found that no surprise at all. After parking into Bill and Tina’s driveway, Karen found out their lights were on. She wondered how in the world Bill and Tina’s house could be the only one with the power on and every business and light were off? It still didn’t make sense to her at all. 

Karen rang the doorbell. Tina carried a candle with her to the front door. Karen heard a lot of chatting going on before Tina even opened the door. Once the Tina opened the door, she had a surprised look on her face. 

“We weren’t expecting you here. Come on in,” Tina said.

“Everyone’s playing games. You’re welcome to join us.” 

“Thanks, Tina.” 

Karen handed Tina her coat. Tina hung it up with the others. 

“We have a guest, everybody,” Tina said, trying to get her friends’ attention. 

Everyone looked up to see who their guest was. 

“Hi, Tammy,” Carla said jokingly. 

“Hi, Sis. So you finally came out of work to come here?” Jay asked. 

“I came on my own,” Karen told her older brother. 

“Aren’t you sneaky. Why did you do such a thing? Did they let you off the hook?” Jay asked. 

Before answering, Karen looked in Marlene’s direction. Marlene didn’t pay any attention to her. She had about five teenagers that looked like they were in the eleventh and twelfth grades. 

Bill thought what Karen had recently done wasn’t right. 

“We should talk this over, Karen,” Bill said. 

“What for? I left a message at the department with the other officers to trade a night. I didn’t want to miss out on all the fun,” Karen told Bill. 

He could tell she was ahead of him, all right. 

“It still doesn’t sound right to skip out like that, Karen,” Bill said. 

“I know, Bill, but I just had to join you guys tonight. If you were like me working tonight and you had to work at night, wouldn’t you skip work just to join your friends so you wouldn’t feel left out?” Karen asked. 

Now Karen had brought Marlene’s attention. Even her dates were watching her. 

Carla knew Karen had a point. 

“I agree with Tammy,” Carla said, after listening to everything Karen had just said.

Marlene had gotten lost because she didn’t know why Karen was here. She knew Karen was supposed to be at work tonight. 

“Does the sheriff know you’re gone?” Bill asked. 

“I left a message with the guard. I was going to trade nights and I was going to be over here,” Karen said truthfully.

Bill shot Marlene a look. 

“I ain’t saying anything,” were Marlene’s very words. 

She meant it, too. 

“Karen, the sheriff can fire you for this if he finds out you’re not there,” Bill told her.

“I do care about my job, guys, but I couldn’t resist coming over here. I wanted to join in on the fun,” Karen said, “even if it was my night to work.” 

“We could still get together with you when you’re on your night off. You kind of ruined tonight for us,” Bill said, disappointed. 

“I guess this night will be canceled now that you came here unexpected. Now that you walked out on your job, we are also canceling our get – together night tonight because of what you did with your job,” Bill said. 

He thought that sounded right but didn’t want to hurt her feelings but he had to do something. 

Karen didn’t like what Bill had said and broke into tears. The only thing she could think of right now was going home to bed. Karen left the Thompson house just then without a good – bye. She wasn’t in the mood to say good – bye. 

“Look what you did, Bill. You made my sister cry,” Jay said, “even if she did do something wrong.” 

Bill didn’t respond to Jay.


	4. Chapter 4

The minute Karen walked into the office the next morning, the sheriff was looking immediately in her direction. 

“We need to talk, Deputy,” the sheriff said in a tone of voice nobody liked. 

“About what?” Karen asked. 

She could guess what he wanted to talk to her about, but had no clue if she was correct.

“Last night,” was the sheriff’s answer. 

“What about last night?” Karen asked. 

“Last night was your turn to work here, wasn’t it?” 

“Yes, sir,” she said. 

“Well, as it turned out, you didn’t get any of the work done on the case last night. I’m sorry to break the news to you like this, Karen, but you’ll have to turn in your badge. I’d like to have it,” the sheriff said.

“You mean now?” Karen asked. 

“Yes, now. You were supposed to be working on your case last night. What did you do? You up and left for a party with some friends on your work night. What did your friends do about it?” the sheriff asked. 

“Wait, don’t tell me. I don’t need to know what your friends did to you since it’s none of my business,” the sheriff added. 

He watched as Karen gave him her things. 

“From today on, we won’t hire you back after what happened last night,” the sheriff told her. 

Karen said nothing more. 

After that, she left the sheriff’s office in tears for home. She spent the rest of the day on the couch, watching soap operas. She wasn’t in the mood to chat to anyone on what happened last night or just now. She wanted to forget the whole thing until her friends could forgive her again. 

There was a knock on the door. Karen lost track of time and saw the time was now 12:00. She wondered where the sun had been this whole time because it was still raining outside. Karen found Carla at the door.

“I can’t stay long, Tammy. I’m on lunch break,” Carla said.

“You’re welcome to stay, but I’m not in the mood to talk to anybody right now.”

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying,” Carla said. 

“I got fired this morning.” 

“It was because of last night, right?” Carla asked as Karen nodded yes. 

“That’s a shame. Do you want me to tell the others for you?” Carla asked. 

“Please do. I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone right now,” Karen said, sniffling.

“That’s all right. I guess Bill was a bit hard on you last night because of what happened. I’ve got to go. I’ll stop by on my way home. Some storm, isn’t it?” Carla asked. 

“Yeah. Makes you wonder when the sun will come back, right?” 

“Right,” Carla agreed. 

Karen walked her African – American friend out of the house. She wouldn’t mind being alone for the afternoon. The kids were in school so they were nothing to worry about until later. In between commercials, Karen watched it pour outside. She knew this was a big – time storm and wasn’t sure how much longer it would last. 

A few minutes later, hail began to happen. After the hail, the power went out. 

“Here we go again,” Karen said to herself once the house went blank.


	5. Chapter 5

At the Thompson residence, Bill was sitting on his desk chair in front of the computer when the power went out. 

Bill got up. He knew what he was doing – looking for Marlene. He needed her to turn the lights back on for him again. He couldn’t find Marlene anywhere in the house, so he gave up. 

“Where is she?” Bill asked. 

He knew Marlene didn’t tell him where she would be and he had a guess so he wasn’t going into town just to bring her back to turn the lights on. 

His guess was that his African – American tenant was in town somewhere, hanging out with her teenage dates. He looked out the window. The rainstorm had really picked up now and big time. Both Bill and Karen had wondered when this storm was going to stop. Bill had a thought. He went to his remote control and hit the “ON” button. 

That’s when Bill noticed he couldn’t find out about the five – day weather forecast on his white Panasonic TV. He had a second thought since electricity was out of the question. He headed for the kitchen table, sad down in one of the light – brown chairs and carried a flashlight so he could see what the paper said about the weather. 

Bill turned the black flashlight to the weather section in the newspaper. He saw it said: Today: Cloudy with rain showers 40% including hail Tomorrow – partly sunny with wind Thursday – Sunny 66 degrees wind in A.M. Bill couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the weather report for the next three days. 

“We’ll wait and see about that,” Bill said to the newspaper. 

He knew daily forecast was not correct. He knew this as a fact. It made him wonder if the rest of the gang had seen the weather section in the paper. He’ll just have to find out. He wondered what the weather was in Las Vegas where his friend, Steve Griswold lived. He guessed Las Vegas was sunny. 

Bill heard the front door open and the screen door shut. He saw Marlene was now home.

“Hi, Marlene. Did you have fun with your dates?” Bill asked. 

“You bet I did. We didn’t really do anything because of the power outage,” Marlene told him. 

“I know. Can you turn the power back on for me again?” Bill asked. 

“I’ll try.” 

Marlene tried what she’d done before, which was stomping her left foot. That’s when the power came back on. 

“Thank you, Marlene. Did you see the weather forecast in the paper?” Bill asked.

“No. What is it?” Marlene asked. 

Bill showed Marlene the weather section. 

“Whoa,” Marlene said after seeing the paper. 

“I’m not believing it till I see it for myself.” 

Later that afternoon, Tina came home. 

“Hi, Bill, Marlene.” 

“Hi, Tiny Tina,” Bill returned as husband and wife kissed. 

“Hi, Tina,” Marlene greeted her. 

“I have a question for you,” Tina said. 

“What’s that?” Bill asked. 

“If we’re having a power outage, how did our lights turn back on?” Tina asked. 

Bill didn’t say anything, so all he did was look at Marlene. Tina finally figured it out. 

“So it was you who turned them on again? Thank you, Marlene. Let’s hope the lights will last longer,” Tina said.

“Did you see the weather in the paper?” Bill asked his wife. 

“No.” 

He was happy he was still holding the paper in his hand. 

“Take a look,” he said, showing Tina the paper. 

Even Tina couldn’t believe what she saw. 

“Let’s hope it happens like this tomorrow,” Tina replied. 

Bill and Marlene said nothing. Bedtime arrived quickly that night and Marlene was the last to go to bed so she turned the lights out. 

Morning arrived. Weather stayed true from what Bill had seen in the paper the day before. To tell the truth, the power had stayed on. Bill saw there were no more power outages when he was the first one that morning to turn the lights on. 

“Glad that’s over with.” 

"I have news for you,” Bill told the two women. 

“What’s that?” Tina asked. 

“No more power outage.” 

Tina smiled. 

“I’m glad that’s over with. Now we can get rid of these candles and flashlights. We can use them for the next storm.” 

“Whenever that’ll be, Tiny Tina. I’m sure the next storm won’t be for a long, long time from now,” Bill said. 

“I’m sure you’re right. I know one thing – I’m not going to miss this one.” 

“I’m with you,” Marlene agreed. 

“It’s hard to date when there’s a storm out there and you sure can’t go to the movies.”

Bill came back after putting the candles and flashlights away. 

“We won’t need those candles and flashlights until the next storm. Whenever that will be, right?”


End file.
